Current-lock for automobiles.



W. J. DORGAN.

CURRENT LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILES. APPLICATION mac NOV. 10. 1915.

1,217,719. Patented 161221917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESSES IIVVENTOR 6171111214.. v yfiJDarzgan I By ATTORNEYS w. j1. DORGAN.

CURRENT LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED Noy.10. 1915} 1,217,719. Pat e nted Feb.27,1917.

a suns-sum 2.

IIVVENTOR A FOR VH8 W. J. DOR-GAN.

CURRENT LOCK FOR AUTDMOBILE S.

-APPL|ATION FILED NOV. 10| 1915- 1 217 719 Pate'nt ed Feb. 27,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET- 3- I I a $39 4 WITNESSES K I Wt/,0 llVl/E/VTOR agar? MTORIVEYS a and; exact description.

ra n era Parana ame WILLIAMJAMES DOIRGAN, OF GRANTWOOD, NEEW JERSEY.

' CURRENT-Loci: FOB. AUTOMOBILES,

his; invention relatesto safety appli- Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed November 10, 1915. Serial No. 60,685.

Patented Feb.

the right hand portionof the lock in Fig. 1 turned over to the left inFig. 2;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the lock but with parts in section on the broken line v3-3 of Fig.

Fig. '4 4- 4 01? Fig. '3;

Fig.-' 5 is a horizontalhsection on the line -5 5 of Fig. .et; 1. Fig. 6' is a vertical section corresponding ancesf'ad apted especially for automobile practice, although without material alteration the. construction may be used to advantage in many other. fields o' f'operation';

Among the objects of the v invention is to provide a lock adapted to open or close a pipe or line along which ;t'h'e current' 'i s .adapted to flow when the" pipe or [line is 'open', the means-for controlling theco'ndii ti'on of the pipe or line being of ap rmutation character, making it feasible for the owner or authorized person. to open; the lock with facility, but whereby it will: be practically impossible for a stranger' toopenit v Another object of the inventionis to provide a locking means for an automobile providing for the cutting ofl' of" the 'tlow, of 'gasolene, or its equivalent, to 'thefmotor, and

parts separated;

to the sectional-part of Fig. 4 butwith the "Fig-. 7 is a plan view of theadjustable disk associated with-the valve: plug; and.

Fig; 8 1s a plan view of the valvexplug.

As above premised, the lock is designedespecially for automobile practice, and at any convenient place in the vehiclebo'dy as,

for example, in the floor lOrthcreofnjustin the rear'of the dashboard ll I-mount in any is a verticalsecti'on on the. line" suitable 'rigid positiohthe; valve bodyfiilQ.

The position of this body l2 With-respectto the *fioor of-"the carma'y vary considerably *with respect to different typesor makes-of at the same time breaking the circuit be:

tween the magneto or other source of el ectricalenergy and the spark plugs.

I provide a lock of thechar a'cter set 'forth,

,struction thatthe opening of the lockmaiy be effected without requiringthe use of a light,

v a the actionof thejilock being controlled i the operators sense of touch rathe'r'than by 40, With the foregoing and othenobjectsin his sight.

view, the invention consists inthe arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter.

described and claimed, and while'the inven- Figure ,1 is awerticallongitudinal section f; a portion of an automobile mp ove l p ed th r Fig. 2 is a bottom planview of thelock as seen from the line 22 of Fig. 1-butwith r q i y a a and hence the 'motorwi'll-be"incapacitated.

cars, but-the principle of operati l he valve body' is shown-for convenience "5 as of substantially rectangular form" g in plan view andadapted for the employment of four independentrotary valve p1ugs= l3:,: v one at each corner, I' wi'sh it to'b'e under.- A further object of the invention is to stood, however, th'a'tthe n'umberzbf valve ."plugs and their relative arrangementmay requiring no'key or other separate partsior manipulation thereof, and also of such .a conbe'varied' as conditions dictate;- Theyva-lve body is cored at 1 provid ing a passages.

way from a supply tube-15-to a'delivery tuhe "16, said passageway being a free and un'obstructed when the valve 'plugs; are all turned to open 'position asshown in Fig. 5.

be understood asbeing connected with any "suitable source oftu'el supply, either as g'asolene or a mixture prepa-red'by the carbureter'for the engine cylinders, and the delivery pipe l6 will be understood as leading toward theengin'e. -lVhen the. valves are open as herein shown, there will be no obstruction to the usual supply delivery of thefuel to the motor, the fluid flowing through the passageway 14-. If, however, any'one or'more of the valves be turned, the flow or current ofthe, iuid will be stopped through the bodyflf of the lock The main portion of each valve plug may be made, as heretofore, as a COIHCal'iEVlCQ Byway ofillustration,'thesupplytube' may fitted snugly in the correspondingly shaped seat 17 and provided with a transverse bore 14 communicating with the main portions of the passageway 14 when the valve plug is in open .position. The valve plug is adapted to be secured in position in the seat 17 by means of a screw 18 or its equivalent acting through insulation washers 19 and 20 and into a hole in the end ofthe valve plug. A metal washer 21 is located between the washer 20 and the body 12. Any suitable temporary catch-means may be provided to hold the valve plugs in any position to which they may be adjusted,

but permitting them to be turned from such positions when required@ For this purpose I provide for each valve a plunger 22 mounted for reciprocation in a socket formed in a rib-24 constituting a part of the valve body. A spring 25 located 'in' the socket 23 acts upon the plunger serving to force it outwardly into engagement with I any one of a series of notches 26 formed in the periphery of a disk 27 carried by or constituting a part of the valve plug. A specific description of one of the-valve plugs will be understood as being applicable to all of them, since they are or may be all of sense of touch when the smooth portion 26' of the periphery is passing along the plunger Any authorized party knowing,

for example, that the valve will be open when the disk is located in a certain position with respect to the plunger, such position bearing a certain definite relation to the smooth portion of the periphery, he obviously. may turn the knob .or 'valveplug to such predetermined position, depending 'merely upon his sense of touch. More defi nitely stated, assuming that any valve will be open when the second notch isv reached when the valve plug is turned in aclockwise direction, the operator will turn the valve freelyin order to locate the smooth portion of' the periphery, and then he can tell positively'by the sense of touch when the plunger snaps into-the second; notch. He may or may not know the location of the plunger with respect tothe valve plug for this purpose. Likewise the remaining valve plugs may be so adjusted as to make .them open when turned through any desired angleafter the passage of the smooth portions along the respective plungers.

In order to provide for a variation in the combination or. adjustment of the valves so as to have the passageway free and unobtive notches 26 and the axis of the valve.

The pin 29 projects sufiicientlyfar above the upper surface of the disk to be engaged by a lug 31 projecting radially at the lower end of the knob 28. I show two of these lugs 31, but as to this special structure I do not wish to be limited. Suflice it to say that by providing a certain amount o.f.clear-, ance for freeindependent movement of the knob around the removable pin connection therefor, added confusion results to the stranger attempting to tamper with the device. i-lssuming that Fig. 3 shows the valves all open and with the pins 29 located inwardly toward the center of the body 12, the adjustment of the several disks will indicate that the combination of the four valves is as follo\\ 's,-beginning at the lower left hand corner and following the course of the fluid: second notch to the right, second notch to the right, second notch to the right, and fourth notch to the left, the knobs being shown in this construction as being left standing in the positions to' whichthey had been moved to open the lock.

To, look the car, therefore, the operator will turn any one or more of the valves-from the position just described. Such turning may be in either direction and to any angulardegree greater or less than 360 degrees.

On the return. of the operator to the car preparatory to starting, he has but to return the disturbed-valve to its normal open positionv as above described; If more than onevalve have been-closed, the restoration, of course,.will be necessary to open the lock.

The several locks may be inclosed within a movable cover plate 33 or the like to protect them from accidental disturbance, such cover .plate being adapted to close automatically when allowed 'so to do, and the knobs 28 may have shanks long enough to reach to any desired distance below the floor of the car orsaid movable cover plate.

As shown best in Fig.2, the same locking or safety device may be associated with the electric circuit between themagneto or other source of energy and the'spark plugs, such line being shown at 34 and 35. At 36 is shown a switch rigidly connected to the valve plug as by means of the screw 18 and washers l9 and 20. The-switch is shown in the form ofa bell crank, the free ends of which are adapted to'make. electrical connection with a pair of spaced contacts 37. Each of the contacts is connected'either to the main line or to auxiliary line 38 leading directly from one contact of one switch to a contact of the. next switch, and so on .str11cted,-I provide the disks separate from th,roughout all of the series .Of valves. and a;

switches. The switches are connected to the respective valve plugs in such position as to open the circuit or' make electrical connection throughout the system when thepas'sage- .way 14 is open for the fluid. This arrangement provides double security, cutting off bo h the fuel-andthe electricity at the same time when any one or more of the valve plugs are rotated out of normal running position. It. follows alsothat the electrical locking means may beused either with or without the fuel passageway. The operation, however,' of the permutation featuresof'the lock and the adjustment thereof will be the same as already described. Each of the contacts 37 .is adapted to be locked to the valve body by meansof ascrew 39, in-

sulation washers 40 and 4:1"bing provided.-

- 1. The herein describedcurrent lock for an automobile comprising, in combination,

a rigid body "of substantially rectangular form, a 'plug rotatably mounted in each corner of the 'body, a detent cooperating with" each plug and indicating to the operatorj through his sense of touch. the relative nosition of the plug with respect to the body, and meansto convey a current through the body when the plugs are all in normal running position, said current being obstructed when any one or more of the plugs are turned out of such normal position.

2. In an automobile'lock, the combination of a rigid body, a plurality of rotary members journaledtherein, a disk fitted upon each rotarymember, the rotarymember and said disk being provided with interlocking parts providing for rotary adjustment of cooperation with the respective disks, means to rotate the several rotary members and -disks, and means -to convey a current through saidbody andthrough all of said rotary members when adjusted in normal running position. WILLIAM JAMES DORGAN.

Witnesses: 4 v

R. D. VELSEY,

' PATRICK J. OARNEY. 

